Tension
by BatmansLady1369
Summary: OMG-I have 10 reviews now! Chapter 3 is up! There's an underlying tension between bm and sm that needs to be addressed. SLASH!
1. Confusion

Disclaimer: I OWN THE JUSTICE LEAGUE!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!......um......ok, not really. Warning: Ok, for those who didn't pick this up in the summary, this is a slash fic. What is slash? It's a romantic relationship between 2 members of the same sex. Preferably (in my opinion) two males. ^_^ If you don't like it, don't read it. No one is forcing you. Just don't read this and then complain that it's wrong and blah, blah, blah, because then you're an idiot. Ok, on with the ficcy. Yay!  
  
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Cold. That was all that registered before everything went black. My eyes are too heavy to open, but I'm not in the mood to deal with the attention waking up would bring anyways. However, I do hear footsteps. Good, that means I'm not in that lake anymore. The steps come to a halt somewhere nearby. I figure I'm in the med-lab in the JLA watchtower. Whoever is in the room with me is definitely male judging by the weight and stride of the steps that were taken into the room. I can hear keystrokes now, he must be checking on me. It seems I shouldn't have gone on that mission after all. There was a meta-human crisis going on that had to be taken care of. Of course, I had to let my ego get in my way and go along, despite warnings from the others. I would have been more help just staying put at the watchtower and monitoring the situation, but I went along, I got thrown in to a frozen-over lake, and I caused the group to have to save me and let the bad-guys get away. I compromised the mission, just because of my stupid pride. What was I thinking? I realize my heart rate has gone up while I was reminiscing and the man is moving over to me. There's a hand on my shoulder.  
  
"I thought you were awake, Bruce."  
  
It's Kal, and there's a definite smile in his voice. I sigh and open my eyes a bit. He's changed into jeans and a dark blue t-shirt and he's standing over me. I allow myself a small smirk.  
  
"You got me, Kal. How long have you known?"  
  
"Oh, only about five minutes. I've been in here for seven."  
  
"I see. Hn, sorry about the lake, I-"  
  
"-Hey, don't worry about it. It could've happened to any of us."  
  
"Liar."  
  
"Yeah, but it made you feel better."  
  
"Hn, you're right."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Smart-ass."  
  
"Nice to reverse roles every once in a while, huh?"  
  
"Hmph."  
  
Just then the alarm goes off. I look up at the monitor, then to the side at him. Solemnly he shakes his head at me.  
  
"If you think you're going, you've got another thing coming. We need you here so we can track them." I know he's right, and that bugs me. I hate being wrong – though as they say, to err is human. Not that I can help it. I nod my head in quiet agreement and stand up. Kal blushes for a moment and turns away saying it seems I need a new costume. I look down and see that what's left of my Kevlar suit is falling indecently off of me in whatever places it's left to cover.  
  
"Oh," I say, trying to sound passive.  
  
I'm actually a little embarrassed, but thankfully he doesn't seem to notice. With that I walk to my watchtower living quarters and get on a new costume, then proceed to the monitoring station. Actually my quarters aren't exactly what one would call "living quarters" as much as sort of an emergency closet. I keep extra costumes, a medical kit, and a laptop that's connected to the computer in the 'Cave in there. I also have a private bathroom, in case I get dirty during a mission, or I need to clean up from training before going to a business meeting or charity ball in Gotham. The others have far more elaborate quarters, since most of them will spend up to a week in the Watchtower during a case, and a couple of them even live there. It's odd how little I see of them, yet how much I know about these people (and aliens) that I work so closely with. After I grab a cup of black coffee I go over to where the rest of the League is departing.  
  
They're just about ready to leave when Kal comes over to me. The others are getting into the Javelin 7 and Kal is planning on flying.  
  
"Keep an eye on us, Bruce," he murmurs close to my ear, making sure the others don't overhear my name.  
  
"I always do," I reply, trying hard to keep my breathing under control. What's happening to me?  
  
"I'll see you when we get back then," Kal sys, reaching up a hand and placing it on my shoulder.  
  
He comes to within an inch on my face, and his face breaks into a small, warm smile, before it fades into a more neutral expression, the lips barely parted. I can feel his hot breath fanning softly over the lower half of my face, and I look up into his eyes to see them staring at me intently, slightly glazed. The room seems to get farther away from me, blurring out until all I can see is Kal's face, and I feel a hot flutter deep in the pit of my stomach. I don't know what's coming over me, but I lean forward slightly, cautiously, until my lips are mere millimeters from his......and Flash pops his head through the doorway.  
  
"Hey, come on, Supes! We're all waiting for ya!"  
  
Both our heads snap in Wally's direction and we take two giant steps away from each other.  
  
"Sorry, did I interrupt something?" he asks a bit perplexed.  
  
"Not at all, Flash," I say, "Kal just wanted to make sure you all had these, so I could keep an eye on you," I explain, holding out my hand with 6 transmitters in it and another device that I had explained before the first trial was supposed to go on one of the meta-humans we were after so we could find them too.  
  
Flash nods and takes the transmitters, hooking one on himself, and handing one to Superman. Kal puts his on and then turns to me, smiling sheepishly. I look back and him.  
  
"Good luck," is all I can get out.  
  
His smile broadens and then he turns to leave. I can't help but notice that, despite all the lights in the tower, his smile is still the brightest thing in the room. I blush at the thought......blush......me......things are getting weird. I walk over to the computer monitoring system and bring up an image of the Javelin, hoping to get my mind off of the strange turn my relationship with Kal is taking.  
  
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So, what do you think? This is my first time writing this couple, and I'm not exactly experienced with fanfic writing to the point a lot of people here might be. I appreciate input! Also, I'll only continue this after I get at least 5 positive reviews. ^_^ Thanks for reading! 


	2. Decisions

Disclaimer: The Justice League is locked in my basement and being used as my sex toys, but I do not own them...YET – BWAHAHAHA...err...not really. Sarafu: I finally got five reviews!! I'm so happy people like this fic! So, on with chapter two!...I wonder how I'm gonna write this...O.o  
  
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BURCE'S P.O.V.  
  
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It's been three hours, and so far all of our supposedly "solid" leads have been dead ends. The League has split into small teams. John and Shayera (how predictable) are checking the last facility the metas used (though if I didn't know better I'd say they were just having sex in there), J'onn and Kal are investigating some sightings at the air force base nearby, and Wally and Diana are keeping tabs on a suspected accomplice. All of the feed from their com-links are being transmitted to the Watchtower computer system, and I've been pitying Diana since 15 minutes into the operation. Wally NEVER shuts up.  
  
"God, babe, I'm starvin'."  
  
"When can we leave?"  
  
"I wanna go to McDonalds."  
  
"Do you like McDonalds? Cuz if you do that's totally NOT hot - you'll lose your figure."  
  
"You look tense, want me to rub your shoulders?"  
  
"Or maybe you're cold...it is kinda windy and with that costume...err, I could use my hands as a heating pad,"  
  
"We could share some body heat...ya know, like..."  
  
"Shut up, Flash," Diana spits venomously for about the hundredth time.  
  
I hear another voice coming through, this time a soft alto...  
  
"...Batman?"  
  
"I'm here," my voice shakes, almost imperceptibly – almost.  
  
"You alright?" Kal asks innocently.  
  
"Fine," I clear my throat, and hope I sound normal, "what did you find?"  
  
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," he says, sounding a bit nervous.  
  
"Let's hope not," but I already have a dread settling in the back of my mind that this situation is far more complex than we than we had ever anticipated.  
  
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," I tell him, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," there, I managed not to sound too uncomfortable.  
  
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," he terminates his transmission as soon as the words are out of his mouth.  
  
For some unknown reason, his statement felt...inadequately impersonal...not that it was...but...Ugh, I'm doing it again. I now notice the heat that had rudely invaded my cheeks, and mentally kick myself for my odd and inappropriate behavior – something strange is happening to me...something I've been thus far unable to control, and as one could guess – I'm pissed.  
  
Perhaps Kal is doing this on purpose – this is all the result of some meta- power we never knew he had, a pheromone he recently started giving off. Or perhaps this is the work of the metas I encountered the other day – some sort of neural inhibitor or drug that only lets me think of him that they used on me while I was unconscious.  
  
Or, maybe, just maybe, it's something deeper than all that. Something real, all my own, that I always refuse to recognize when it decides to surface...perhaps it's love – but that's preposterous. I can't be in love with Kal – I would destroy him. Which, since he's the closest thing to a friend I have, would of course bother me. But that's all he is – a friend. A kind and gentle friend, who, despite his loving family, can still understand the isolation I feel, can empathize with my loss, and who has managed to retain such inner light that he has been known to share it with those around him, shine a glowing beacon of hope and trust into the dark corners that I dwell in, and lead me just close enough to the daylight that I'm saved from slipping through the cracks and over the edge time and again.  
  
Hmm...well, perhaps he is a...little more than just a friend...I can say he is my best friend. But love him? Though suddenly after thinking it all through, the idea doesn't sound so strange...yet it's still a foreign and frightening thing. Not that I would ever admit it of course. Kal is essentially invincible. Virtually. Even I, the mere mortal who was somehow mixed into a league of gods and goddesses, have almost killed him more than once. And it hurt every time. I know that now. I was always afraid I would kill him, or that once he recovered, he would lose that unique brilliance I so envy and admire and drift into my darkness and whither away. The light that sustains and defines him could not dwell in someone so broken as myself, so I tend to keep away from him unless it's necessary. God knows what would happen to me if I somehow managed to smother it.  
  
So I love him. I'm...in love with Kal. But he won't find out. I won't let him. I can't. I wouldn't be able to stand seeing my closeness drawing him into my sad and lonely world. He doesn't belong with someone like myself. He deserves so much better. When he returns, I have to control my reactions to him. I will not risk destroying such innocent beauty and corrupting such flawless serenity. He will remain untainted by the cruel night, and I will remain alone, as I should be. It's better this way.  
  
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KAL'S P.O.V.  
  
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It's been three hours and all J'onn and I have been able to find is some sort of remote. Although it looks like the devices Darkseid uses to create his boom tubes, I'm keeping my hopes up that it's just something to active a bomb or satellite.  
  
I tell J'onn we're probably not going to find anything else and I take a deep breath before speaking directly to Bruce.  
  
"...Batman?"  
  
"I'm here," he responds stoically. His smooth baritone shakes slightly, and I wonder if he was injured more severely than we'd thought.  
  
"You alright?" I ask.  
  
"Fine," says, clearing his throat, "what did you find?" Hmm...well, he sounds ok now. Good.  
  
"We're not sure, but it looks eerily like the transmitters used to create the boom tubes that Darkseid uses," I say, trying not to let my nervousness about the evidence...and him show.  
  
"Let's hope not," I can tell he doesn't like the sound of that either.  
  
"Wally and Diana haven't found anything yet," he says to me, and I feel a pang of jealousy as he mentions her name, "I'm going to call them back to the watchtower. John and Shayera are determined to keep searching – I'm giving them another hour before we eliminate the old base as a lead. I'd like you and J'onn to come back now as well," he finishes, sounding a bit strained. I hope he's as alright as he's trying to portray – he's notorious for trying to seem stronger than he is. I've never understood why he feels so compelled to try to compensate for his lack of superpowers by pretending he heals like a meta. I suppress a sigh.  
  
"Alright, then. We'll see you in a few minutes," I turn off my com immediately and motion for J'onn to follow.  
I want Bruce alone up there for as short a time as possible. Even though it seems I'm impartially overprotective of humans, I really care for Bruce more deeply than that. Sure I have Lois, but she can be so overbearing, and doesn't accept me completely. I told her six months ago who I am, and although we started a formal relationship, she still hasn't come to politely tolerate my Clark side. After all we've been through, she still hates him. Bruce on the other hand accepts me completely, even if it is with some annoyance. He understands what it is to have to deal with two lives, and even has come to embrace the third, and probably most true side of my persona, Kal-El. My Clark is his Bruce, my Superman is his Batman, and my Kal is his frightened inner-child who's still kneeling in that dark alley all alone, soaked in his parents' blood.  
  
Though he hates it, I feel the need to protect him, not just from the criminals that he faces (who have been known to give even me a hard time), but also from himself, and his incessant need to push everyone he cares about away. I realize he does it because he doesn't want them to get hurt, but when he does these things, it only achieves scarring them even more deeply than anything that could have happened to them because of associating with him.  
  
He needs someone to show him that there is good left in the world, he can do more than just swoop by and help preserve it, but he can be a part of it, and he can surround himself with it. He has so many people that care about him, but he chooses not to see them because he believes it's safer that way. I suppose in some ways it is, but when it comes down to it, no matter how used to it he might be, he cannot hold the burden of pulling in all of the bad from his city without someone to balance him out.  
  
And I want that someone to be me. I want to be his support, his guide, his friend, his lover. I love him, all of him, today and every day, forever. I've made up my mind – I'm going to tell him tonight. Shayera has monitor duty, so he'll be free, and I'll pull him aside, and no matter what he says, no matter what he does, he will know.  
  
From there, he can do what he wants with the knowledge – I just hope Bruce takes it for what it is.  
  
******** Err, I had some trouble ending this chapter. I'm sure you get the idea, but I understand if you complain about it being a little awkward – this is the fifth draft and it's still not right, but it's getting really late, so I have to stop. I might revise and repost this later, but lemme know what you think... 


	3. Stale Mate

Yay, chapter 3!! Disclaimer: Justice League is not mine, yadda, yadda, yadda... Notes: Things are about to get...tasty ^_^ Run away, homophobes, run awaaay!!  
  
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Bruce's P.O.V.  
  
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Kal and J'onn arrive within ten minutes of their transmission, with Wally and Diana close behind. John and Shayera send the information they'd gathered (or lack thereof) to the tower and go "out to dinner", saying that if we needed help, "We'll be sure to, uh...*moan* lend a hand...". Typical.  
  
After discussing with the team what should be done next, we decide that tomorrow we'll split up and investigate the surrounding three blocks of the base Kal and J'onn were at, and tonight I was to do an analysis of the mysterious remote that was found.  
  
I make my way back to the 'Cave to start running chemical tests on the remote, thinking only of Kal. Of course I feel guilty, especially after reasoning that it was best to ignore my revelation of the love I hold for him. And still, his image lingers in my mind.  
  
My mind goes back to the meeting, and I am greeted with a still-frame image of him bent over the table, his eyes gleaming with curiosity, with concern, and...something else I can't quite identify, as he looks up at me, waiting for my verdict of the situation. His strong arms holding him up, the muscles bulging with his incredible strength as they push at the soft blue fabric, looking as if they are desperate to escape the confines of his costume and revel in the cool air of the conference room...I wonder if he gets goosebumps...  
  
I suddenly envision the table we were talking over in a spotlight, his nude body draped over it and I over him; his hands in my hair, my teeth on his neck, our legs twisted, and our bodies pushed together desperately. The room feels hot, and even in the cool of the 'Cave in the real world, my cheeks flush and my breath comes quicker. My head lolls back and the hair is standing up on the back of my neck and --  
  
"Bruce?" a deep voice echoes through the 'Cave.  
  
I struggle to get a hold on my unbidden fantasies as I turn to see Kal striding towards me from the darkness, an ethereal glow seeming to envelop him as the lights from the 'Cave shine down on him.  
  
"You shouldn't be here, Kal," I say, my voice already raw with the desire that I only this morning had realized was there.  
  
I would expand on the statement, but, thinking better of it, I clamp down on my voice before I embarrass myself further. Unfortunately, Kal speaks again, and the mere sound of his voice sends a sudden bolt of heat from my chest to my waist and lower still, radiating throughout my body until I can barely stand. And he hasn't even touched me...what is he saying?  
  
"...and I'm not sure how you'll react..." I catch, his voice soft, distant...hesitant?  
  
His voice turns my knees to liquid, luckily I'm sitting, and it's getting harder and harder not to just pounce on him...When did I become such a mindless, sex-driven...brooding version of the Flash? The metallic taste of bile rises from my disgust and the battle my mind is waging agianst my smitten heart and stubborn, now severely-aroused body, and I remember that Kal is talking to me.  
  
"...so...I guess...what I'm really trying to say is...I – I love you. I'm in love with you, Bruce," he takes a deep breath and all of my own air seems to have escaped me, as if he were drawing it in for himself, to gain a hold on the smothering emotions from both of us that I have been unable to handle properly, and speaks again, "I know what you'll probably say, and it's alright, I came here expecting for you to reject me, but I wanted you to know, and I wanted to say it. I don't know how much longer I would have been able to harbor it before I went crazy or something, * heh *," he laughs nervously.  
  
So optomistic...darkly optomistic...but optomistic all the same. It's so unlike him to be uncomfortable though...And he...expected me to turn him away? How ridiculous, how presumptuous, how...accurate. I realize that that is precicely what I had been intending, and an overwhelming sense of guilt passes through me, enough that it manages to partially subdue the haze of desire that was threatening to clamp down on any lingering reason in me...but then, as I find myself standing and making my way towards him, I reevaluate that perhaps I have no rational thought left, and all that is guiding me at this point is instint.  
  
Kal looks confused for a moment before I close in on him and softly cover his lips with my own before any protest or question can be uttered that my change my mind...  
  
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Kal's P.O.V  
  
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J'onn and I get to the watchtower about ten minutes after my conversation with Bruce ends. The others didn't take long to show up as well...except for John and Shayera...but I'd rather not think about what they're up to elsewhere, escpecially after that message they left us. After discussing with the team what should be done next, we decide that tomorrow we'll split up and investigate the surrounding three blocks of the base J'onn and I were at, and tonight Bruce was going to do an analysis of the remote we found.  
  
I went home to my apartment, but found myself restless, haunted by images of Bruce in his costume, so inhuman and unreachable, like a tangible version of the walls he's built around himself over the years.  
  
I imagine breaching those walls, breaking through them with ease the same way I would a piece of steel – something strong only to those who made it and those who tried to get in the wrong way. I've been unable to find a door, so perhaps if I could make a dent, then the rest would fall away for me without using any force at all. I don't want my feelings to be a burden to him – God knows he has enough to deal with – but, maybe if it was out in the open...  
  
I realize I have already resolved to tell him, but as I mull over it again and again, the unnessacary complexity of the situation pulls me in deeper and deeper, and my endeavors to reach him seem more and more hopeless.  
  
I sigh out loud. I should at least go see him. If I don't try this tonight, I'll probably loose my nerve.  
  
I put my costume back on, and fly to Gotham. I figure he's in the cave, so I don't bother Alfred by knocking on the front door – I just go straight down to a gap I know is there from the once-over I gave the place the first time I was there.  
  
I enter from a long corridor, the cool damp air almost reminiscent of the conference room in the tower. It's darker down here, but the impersonal...I wouldn't say sterility – I mean, I'm in a cave – but there's something...unwelcoming about it – as if I've violated his sanctity.  
  
At he same time however, there's a power about the place, or maybe just the fact that it's his domain, that draws me in farther.  
  
I reach the main part of the cave, passing the empty, metal medical table, the dark gymnasium which without the lights on is probably invisible to anyone else, and finally I am standing a few yards away from the computer.  
  
He's sitting at the console, slouching slightly – very unlike him – and his breathing is a bit unsteady, just like earlier.  
  
"Bruce?" my voice echoes through the huge cavern, bouncing off the walls, sounding obnoxious and intrusive.  
  
My mind starts racing with second thoughts about coming here, but I can't give up now. Bruce is finally ready to listen, and I need to say what I came to say – after all, it would be ludicrous to just leave at this point...right?  
  
"Bruce," I say again, buying myself some time while trying to formulate the words I have known for so long but never put together,"I know we've had our differences over the years...a lot of them...but, uh, I think you know...or I hope you know...that I, uh, respect you and I really value your friendship. On that note I...I want to tell you something, and I'm not sure how you'll react, but I feel it's something you need to know...so...um...I. Ok, um, I like you Bruce. As a friend, an ally, and I lik—love you as...I...oh I dunno how to say this......so...I guess...what I'm really trying to say is...I – I love you. I'm in love with you, Bruce," I take a deep breath and try to calm myself, but he just stares at me, open-mouthed, and distant.  
  
This was a mistake. A horrible sense of dread presses down on me and I can't move, I can't breathe, and I hope to any God that might hear me for the cave floor to open up and swallow me so I can't hear his reaction...but I at least have my dignity. I still don't want him to feel pressured...A dim glimmer of hope sparks in me at the thought of perhaps easing his mind by back off a little bit.  
  
"I know what you'll probably say, and it's alright, I came here expecting for you to reject me," I say, every word hurting me,"but I wanted you to know, and I wanted to say it. I don't know how much longer I would have been able to harbor it before I went crazy or something, * heh *," I laugh awkwardly, trying to clear the air. But he just continues to stare, his visage barely wavering...  
  
And then he stands, and slowly, agonizingly slowly makes his way towards me. Is he angry? I wonder, Is he upset? He looks up at me, and it takes all of my self-control not to use my x-ray vision to try to read his expression, but before I can say anything, he's kissing me, and all of my fear, all of my doubt, flies out of me, forgotten, and my arms wrap around him, and we're * floating *......  
  
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So what do you think? I'm seriously considering making the next chapter kinky ^^ I'm not sure if I like this chapter as much as the others either, but....I guess it's really up to you guys! Thanks for reading, and of course, input is always welcomed. 


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